Closure Systems on Bicycle Bags

Cristobal Pannier

Having now owned and tried a number of bicycle bags, one of the features I pay close attention to is the closure - particularly on bags I use every day. Many classic bicycle bags are fitted with traditional buckles. While I love the idea of it, in practice I find that I fiddle with the closure way too much every time I want to open or close the bag.

Carradice Kendal Pannier

And with bags that use really thin straps, there is the additional issue of the straps fraying and breaking off from frequent use.

Zimbale 7L Saddlebag

Zimbale bags use a quick "Sam Browne" style closure that does not require undoing the buckle. This is the biggest reason I favour my Zimbale over my near-identical Carradice; it simply takes me less time to open and close the bag. I've had this bag for 2 years now, and over time there has been some stretching in the leather eyelets, but not so much that the closure comes undone.

Philosophy Pannier

Philosophy bags use a snap closure, also independent of the buckle. It works well and does not seem to stress the leather. I sometimes worry about the security, but it has not come undone as of yet.

OYB Pannier

Some vintage Swiss Army bags feature an interesting "latch" system where a stiff cord is inserted into a metal loop. It is simple and secure, though the cord may need to be replaced after some use.

Ironweed Pannier(more pictures and review soon)

Nylon cords with plastic buckle closures seem pretty easy and convenient, but it's a system I haven't used until just now.

Ostrich Handlebar Bag & Berthoud Medium Handlebar Bag

I love the simplicity of elastic closures. But in my experience, it's not always easy to get the tension of the elastics just right, and I've been in situations where various parts of my handlebar bag have flung open en route. The elastics also tend to stretch out over time, so they may need to be tightened or replaced after some use.

Fastrider Deluxe Shopper Pannier

Zipper and velcro closures work nicely - except when the bag is full and cannot close completely.

Po Campo Loop Pannier

All closure systems seem to have their pros and cons - from ease of use, to security, to durability. Overall I tend to favour the quick and easy methods, though I do wish I had the patience and digital dexterity for tiny buckles.



What closure system do you prefer on bicycle bags?

Conditions after the rains look good

Most "local" ice climbers are figuring that the season has just ended with all the rain. What ice could be left? I'm happy to report the the community that most held in with minor damage. Here's a photo conditions report from today. Hope this motivates you to come check out SWPA!

Irishtown, The Prow WI4, M3 a little washed, watch the top.

Irishtown, Mouth of Madness WI5-

in slightly easier conditions. The best its looked this season

Irishtown, Dynamite M6+, almost a drytool line.

Not much ice at the top.

Irishtown, Pale Wildwood Ice Tower WI4

makes another appearance

Irishtown, Dirty-T M4 is in great shape for a moderate mixed

Irishtown, Upper Wall, currently OUT

Possibly by next weekend it will rebond.

Upper Meadow Run, Ohiopyle State Park, School Yard WI4- to 3-

held up and is in great shape.

Upper Meadow Run Amphitheater is looking good.

Upper Meadow Run, Ohiopyle State Park, Buckey's Line WI3+

This rare former is in good shape. Watch the thick top out.

Lower Meadow Run, Season Finale M6 R is ready

Lower Meadow Run, Ohiopyle State Park, Main Flow WI3,

Anger Management M6 climbs up through the daggers, currently in great shape.

Lower Meadow Run, Caveman M7 the ice is a little short, but should go

Lower Meadow Run, The Flows WI2 still nice and thick

Other local ice conditions...

The Beast WI5+/6 formed more right due to wind.

Its tentacles are about grounded. Son of Beast WI5+ filled in nicely.

The Infinite WI5+ and The SICK-le WI6, M7

Still plenty of ice and new lines to be climbed...

So there it is. There's still lots of ice in most areas. The forecast looks promising for improving conditions. Now is the time to climb. The ice has finally become smooth and good sticks are easier now than in weeks past. Get out and enjoy the great conditions we've been given. If you have any questions about other local conditions or areas, drop me a line. Hope to see you out there. -Tim

By the Sea in Dún Laoghaire

Pronounced "Dunleary," with an emphasis on the second syllable, Dún Laoghaire is a provincial seaside town in Ireland just south of Dublin. I am visiting family here before going north to County Antrim, and will return here again afterward before flying back to Boston.






I love small seaside towns and was excited for this to be my first introduction to Ireland. Arriving to a new place, we never really know what to expect. This time the unexpected part was the familiarity. If you can picture a cross between Brighton, England and Portland, Maine with a touch of South Boston's waterfront area, you will be well on your way to forming a picture ofDún Laoghaire. Growing increasingly suburban as it stretches inland, there is a dense commercial center closer to the sea. Streets are generally narrow, with a system of even narrower hidden alleyways that are used as pedestrian shortcuts. The exception is the wide and highly traveled road that stretches along the waterfront. A sidewalk promenade follows the road with occasional interruptions and everything here is built on a large scale: a towering city hall, a string of grand hotels, an enormous modern theater.






Dún Laoghaireis not an old town, and a lot of the design elements can be traced to the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Iron latticework, gilded pavilions, hotel walls painted in pastel hues.




Walking along the waterfront, it is easy to imagine the heyday of this place. I can practically see the ladies in corseted frilly dresses strolling up and down the promenade with their parasols and lap dogs.






Of course now it all looks a little shabby. Peeling paint, rust. And on a drizzly weekday, the only people I saw along the promenade were hooded joggers and a couple of young mothers pushing strollers while talking on their mobile phones.






Not that this detracts from imagining what the place used to be and what motivated people to create things like this elaborate minuscule pavilion.





The distinguishing feature of the Dún Laoghaire waterfront is its two long granite piers. These start on the opposite sides of town, then curve inward until their tips almost meet. There is a red lighthouse on the East Pier and a green one on the West. It's as if they are looking at each other longingly across the water.






This charming view is, however, somewhat subverted by the intrusion of the Dublin Power station towers smack in between the lighthouses. You can see them in the distance here if you look closely.






There is much more toDún Laoghairethan this vast and quaint waterfront area, and in fact I haven't really described the town itself at all. But somehow the presence of the promenade, with its granite piers and rusting latticework and sea air permeates the rest of the town.The people are friendly, but reserved. An elderly man in a pub said to me that those who enjoy living here value anonymity. Otherwise they are miserable and can't wait to leave. So close to Dublin, this town does not feel as if it's anywhere near a capital city. It is its own universe, hidden in plain sight; a closed system.





I have been cycling despite the non-stop rain, mostly for transportation and exploring. The cycling is so-so. No bike lanes at all, but the roads are mostly calm except in the town center. I am not entirely comfortable with the left-handed flow of traffic yet, so I am afraid to ride on busy streets and sometimes take the sidewalk (as do half the cyclists here it seems). Cycling along the endless East Pier in a light drizzle and enjoying 3/4 water views has been my most memorable ride so far. I don't mind the rain and the cold here, but it does make taking good pictures difficult.



Overall I am trying to decide whether I like it in Dún Laoghaire. Is this the sort of place I'd want to live? In theory, it really should be. It's got the sea, mazes of narrow streets, stone houses, lots of wild vegetation, privacy, and genuinely pleasant people. But for some reason, it doesn't quite pull at my heart strings. I am comfortable here and do not even experience my trip as being abroad so far. But I feel a little detached from this town. Tomorrow I take the train to the North of Ireland.

On Bicycle Reviews

Once in a while I get an email from someone who bought a bicycle after reading positive things about it on this blog, only to discover that I also had other, more critical posts about the very same bike. When this happens it is only natural that the reader feels some degree of betrayal, and that I in turn feel guilty. I start to think that maybe I should wait until I've owned a bike for years before reviewing it, and that I should generally try to tone down the enthusiasm in my posts. But frankly, I don't think that would help matters. Having started this blog as a beginner, my preferences are in a constant state of evolution, making me an inherently untrustworthy reviewer. And I think the bigger issue is that all bicycle reviews are to some extent unreliable for these same reasons, and that reading them at face value is a mistake. Just consider the myriad of factors that can shape a bicycle review. Do you keep them in mind when interpreting the author's feedback?

Reviewer's physical characteristicsThis one gets overlooked a great deal, but I think it's an important place to start. Consider, for example, that a cyclist's size and weight are going to affect their experience of any given bike. Unless you are similar in these characteristics to the reviewer, you may not experience the same bike in the same manner: a bicycle that feels perfectly comfortable to them may feel overly stiff (or overly flexible) to you; a bicycle that is perfectly proportioned for them may feel ill-proportioned to you. Physical strength and degree of fitness plays a role as well.

Reviewer's cycling backgroundHow experienced is the reviewer at the time the review is written (that last bit is especially crucial to pay attention to when reading old reviews from bloggers who have since gained more experience)? And what type of cycling background are they coming from? An evaluation of a bicycle as fast/responsive by a seasoned racer is going to have very different implications than the same evaluation from someone whose experience has been limited to beach cruisers. Same with the notions of comfort, stability, and so on.

Basis for comparisonWhat other bicycles has this person ridden and owned? If someone has never ridden a Dutch bike before and they review, say, a Batavus, their impressions are likely to be of Dutch bikes as a general concept rather of Batavus specifically, simply because the whole category is so new and striking to them. Same with racing bikes, mountain bikes, and so on.

Duration of experienceBeware of statements such as "The bicycle felt great as soon as I started riding it," or "I knew right away that I loved it." And yes, I am probably guilty of making them myself - we all are. But the truth is that our impressions of bicycles change as we experience them across different contexts, and to experience them across different contexts we need time. How often and for how long has the reviewer been riding the bicycle? How long are their individual rides compared to yours? If a bicycle causes pain or fatigue after 50 miles, the reviewer whose rides are limited to 20 miles will be unaware of it.

ApplicabilityDoes the reviewer use the bicycle for the same purpose, or in the same way, as you would use it? The author's feedback is only truly applicable to the reader when that is the case. But if a bicycle is praised for loaded touring, whereas you are planning to commute on it or use it as a roadbike, chances are you will not experience its ride quality in quite the same way as the reviewer.

Value systemEvery reviewer is different in terms of what it is they value about a bike. To some it is important that they feel no road vibration, whereas others could not care less. For some toe overlap is unacceptable, whereas others won't even notice it. Some care mostly about how a bicycle handles loaded, some have distinct seat tube angle preferences, some take note of how cleanly filed the joints of the frame are, some are concerned about the quality of the paintjob. There are loads of issues like this that a reviewer may omit simply because they don't care one way or the other, at least at the time of the review.

Pattern of biasOnce you read a handful of reviews by the same author, a pattern of bias will usually emerge. Some reviewers criticise the heck out of all bicycles as a matter of course, so a "positive" review from them still looks pretty negative. Conversely, there are those who are enthusiastic about all the bikes they review, and then you have to carefully read between the lines and try to determine what they might be omitting. There are those reviewers who are prone to the "honeymoon effect" and those who keep a cool head. Reviewers' impressions can lean toward the emotional, the technical, the superficial, the overanalytical - you name it. Whatever their specific pattern may be, it holds clues for how to interpret that reviewer's feedback.

No doubt there are many more factors worth considering, and I invite you to share your own strategies for interpreting bicycle reviews. More than anything, I think it is crucial to read as many reviews of the same bike as you can find - and if a common thread emerges, that's when it becomes truly informative. Also, for those bicycles we don't get a chance to see in person, the images offered by reviewers can be more telling and detailed than those provided by the manufacturer. Reviews are usually useful, no matter how biased. But to "trust" a single reviewer because you like their blog or find their narrative style entertaining is, in my opinion, asking for trouble. There is no such thing as a reliable narrator, and bicycle reviews are no exception.

Old Bridge Across Rio Grande River

This bridge used to be the bridge that vehicle traffic used to get from one side of the Rio Grande River to the other side. It is known as the Alameda Bridge. There are several bridges across the river in the Albuquerque area. The Rio Grande Bridge, and the Bernallio Bridge are the oldest. I know they were there in the 1940's but not sure of exact age. The Rio Bravo Bridge was built during the 1960's and the Alameda Bridge I think. I could be wrong on all of these. Probably could have looked up exact dates but I didn't. And the newest one is the Paseo del Norte Bridge which was build in the early 1990's. Of course all except the Paseo Bridge had been rebuild at some point. That is why we were able to walk out on this bridge. The Alameda Bridge was rebuilt in the early 1990's and someone had the good idea of leaving the old bridge for people to walk across on. People on bicycles, horses, and skates can use it, also. Anotherwords non-motorized traffic.
The first photo is looking west, the second is looking east. The great views of the Rio Grande River is looking north. You can see the new bridge for traffic which is on the south side of the original bridge.
Most of the summer there had been lots of sandbars in the river but on this day there weren't as many. I don't know if the river was up due to more rain north of here or if they had stopped letting so much water into the irrigation ditches since it is now fall. Sometimes when I drive across the bridge I had briefly seen Canadian Geese, and ducks sitting on the sandbars or near the edges of the river, but not this day.

James & Lysander Joslin :: 1844 Tax Duplicate

The 1844 Tax Duplicate for Whitley County, Indiana is located at the County Archives. There was no date written in the book, just the year 1844 written on the inside front cover. The Genealogical Society of Whitley County published a facsimile of the Duplicate in October .., which includes copies of the pages of the original text as well as an index of all names listed therein.

The names were listed in semi-alphabetical order by township, for example, all the surnames beginning with "J" were together for that township but not in alphabetical sequence. There were no page numbers though page numbers were assigned when the GSWC published their book. In that publication, Lysander and James are listed on pages 39 and 40.

=+==+==+=

No 3 Troy Township Continued

Lysander Joslin, Number 132, No Poll, SE NW, Section 25, Township 32, Range 9, 40 acres, land valued at $100, improvements valued at $15, value of land and improvements $115

Note: Lysander was born in May 1825 and would have turned 19 years old in 1844. Therefore he was too young to vote, thus no poll tax for him.

James Joslin, Number 133, 1 Poll, NE NW, Section 25, Township 32, Range 9, 40 acres, land valued at $100, improvements valued at $40, value of land and improvements $140

Lysander has Personal Property valued at $35, total value of taxables $150, taxes were: state 31 cents, county 67 cents, road 50 cents, total am't of Taxes $1.48, Remarks: Paid

On the line with James' name, there is a notation written in the first three columns that looks like Rate (or Late) paid 50 but I'm not sure. James has Personal Property valued at $60, total value of taxables $200, taxes were: state 42 cents, county $1.30, road 50 cents, total am't of Taxes $2.72, Remarks: D $2.22 [Delinquent ?]

Tern Swoop: a Commute-Ready Folder

While we are on the subject of small wheel bicycles, I wanted to share my impressions of the Tern Swoop, which is due to hit bike stores in the US any day now. I test rode the Swoop at the Interbike Outdoor Demo earlier this year. This was the first Tern bicycle I've tried.






Tern is a Taiwanese manufacturer of folding bikes, whose launch was filled with drama. The company is owned by the son and wife of the owner of Dahon. When they left Dahon to set up Tern, the feud and back-and-forth lawsuits that followed fed the industry rumor millfor some time. But it seems that Tern is here to stay. Their initial models were met with positive reviews. Now in their second year of production, they've expanded their lineup, and that is how I encountered the Swoop.






The Tern Swoop is an ultra low step-over model, optimised for commuting in comfort. Specs include an aluminum frame, hi-ten steel fork, 20" wheels with fat tires, v-brakes, racks and lighting, and a quick and easy fold. The bike I rode was the Di7 model, which features a Shimano Nexus 7-speed hub. There is also a SRAM 2-speed Duo model.






The Swoop is a commuter-ready bike. The low stepover makes it easy to mount and dismount for everyone. The fenders and chainguard will keep clothing clean. The wide tires (Schwalbe Big Apples) make for a cushy ride. The generously sized rear rack and built-in cords allow for easy transport of luggage. In addition to the rear rack, there is a luggage socket into which a klick-fix adapter can be installed. This system works with a variety of front bags and baskets.






The bike also comes equipped with dynamo lighting, powered by the BioLogic Joule 3 generator hub. This hub has an on/off switch on the side, which is said to eliminate drag ("...in the 'off' position, the magnets are pulled away from the core of the hub").






The Swoop's positioning is relaxed and upright, with the flat, ever-so-slightly curved back handlebars set quite high for all but the tallest riders.






I rode the Swoop around the Outdoor Demo loop a few times, as well as on dirt for a bit. In total this amounted to 2-3 miles, including some uphill stretches. The bike felt comfortable and relaxed, not unlike a full sized European city bike. The fat tires drowned out bumps very nicely. Unlike some of the other non-Brompton folding bikes I've tried, the Tern Swoop felt pleasantly un-flimsy. I did not sense any play in the fold joints, nor did I feel flex in the frame while cycling. The ride quality was stable and novice-friendly. The bike cannot be called sporty exactly, but it rode faster than its looks suggest, and the gearing was low enough to make the uphill stretches painless, as well as to handle more serious inclines if need be.




As far as comparing it to my Brompton, the Swoop is a more relaxed and upright bike. It rode a bit slower, and somewhat less maneuverably. Without a front load, the steering felt considerably more "normal" than Brompton's distinct (some say "twitchy") steering.




One thing I should note, is that visually the Tern Swoop resembles the Dahon Ciao, which I have not tried. Tern's claim is that the Swoop is a stiffer ride, eliminating flex in the frame, folding joint, and "handlepost." Among other differences is the Swoop's carry handle, and slightly faster fold.






Tern representative Eric Mah demonstrated the fold for the camera, and I also tried it myself. The process is similar to Brompton's, so it felt familiar and intuitive.






The folded size, however, is considerably larger than Brompton's (Brompton: 23" x 22.2" x 10.6"; Tern Swoop: 31.1" x 28.3"x 15"). At over 30lb, the Swoop is also noticeably heavier than a similarly equipped all-steel Brompton (which, according to the CleverCycles configurator, would come in at 26lb, including dynamo lighting and rear carrier). As the Brompton is already borderline for my being able to carry it comfortably for longer than a minute at a time; I would struggle trying to do so with the larger and heavier Tern. That said, Terns are still among the most compact and lightest folding bikes.






The announced retail price for the Swoop is in the $900-$1,150 range, including the rear rack and lighting. The solid build, stable ride, ultra low stepover, commuter-ready features, and easy foldability make it worth considering for those seeking a compact urban transport bike. Overall, the Swoop seems to be a good value. I am curious to see how it will be received once it hits the bike shops.